topic Re: 5D Mark II dark viewfinder / camera locked in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

5D Mark II dark viewfinder / camera locked

rdunn — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 14:46:44 GMT

After two or so hours of shooting mostly video with the 5D, I went to take a picture/check my lighting but the viewfinder only darkened when I hit the shutter button, the camera didn't react when I hit any of the buttons to the left of the LCD screen, and I could only adjust apeture and shutter speed. I had auto focus on and was unable to capture any images, but if I switched to manual I could take a picture but I couldn't review it or mess with the ISO before taking the picture.

I tried cleaning the contact spots between the lens and body, leaving the battery out for extended periods, and changing lenses. At times the screen would flicker dark to light for a few seconds and it currently is working properly.

I was in the middle of shooting for work and had to call off the rest of the shoot because I couldn't rectify the situation.

Can anyone provide some insight? Should I just send the camera to Canon?

Re: 5D Mark II dark viewfinder / camera locked

TTMartin — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 15:13:08 GMT

Are you sure mirror lock up mode didn't get turned on?

Re: 5D Mark II dark viewfinder / camera locked

rdunn — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 15:19:53 GMT

Yep. Unless there is a button that enables mirror lock up mode I don't know about, I didn't access the cameras menu at all when this started happening. I had just switched off live view to check my light meter.

Re: 5D Mark II dark viewfinder / camera locked

RobertTheFat — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 16:11:44 GMT

rdunn wrote:
After two or so hours of shooting mostly video with the 5D, I went to take a picture/check my lighting but the viewfinder only darkened when I hit the shutter button, the camera didn't react when I hit any of the buttons to the left of the LCD screen, and I could only adjust apeture and shutter speed. I had auto focus on and was unable to capture any images, but if I switched to manual I could take a picture but I couldn't review it or mess with the ISO before taking the picture.

I tried cleaning the contact spots between the lens and body, leaving the battery out for extended periods, and changing lenses. At times the screen would flicker dark to light for a few seconds and it currently is working properly.

I was in the middle of shooting for work and had to call off the rest of the shoot because I couldn't rectify the situation.

Can anyone provide some insight? Should I just send the camera to Canon?

The obvious supposition is that the camera overheated. Did it resume normal behavior after it cooled off? If it didn't, overheating could still be the source of the problem; but then you probably would have to send it in. You would, of course, have to consider the fact that a 5D2 isn't worth very much anymore and may not justify its repair cost.

Unsolicited free advice: Never go into a critical photo shoot without a backup camera.

Re: 5D Mark II dark viewfinder / camera locked

rdunn — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 12:56:12 GMT

Overheating is a definite possibility, it was extremely humid that day. After a weekend of sitting in an office with AC I had some of the same problems trying to shoot pictures Monday morning, but by Tuesday it was back to working correctly. Luckily I have a back up camera for pictures, but no back up for video.

Re: 5D Mark II dark viewfinder / camera locked

jrhoffman75 — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 15:10:34 GMT

I wouldn't think it would take two or three days to cool down.

Re: 5D Mark II dark viewfinder / camera locked

Waddizzle — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 15:24:16 GMT

@rdunn wrote:
After two or so hours of shooting mostly video with the 5D, I went to take a picture/check my lighting but the viewfinder only darkened when I hit the shutter button, the camera didn't react when I hit any of the buttons to the left of the LCD screen, and I could only adjust apeture and shutter speed. I had auto focus on and was unable to capture any images, but if I switched to manual I could take a picture but I couldn't review it or mess with the ISO before taking the picture.

I tried cleaning the contact spots between the lens and body, leaving the battery out for extended periods, and changing lenses. At times the screen would flicker dark to light for a few seconds and it currently is working properly.

I was in the middle of shooting for work and had to call off the rest of the shoot because I couldn't rectify the situation.

Can anyone provide some insight? Should I just send the camera to Canon?

What camera shooting mode were you using? It almost sounds as if Exposure Simulation, or Depth of Field preview, had been enabled at the time, and the camera had insufficient light to lock focus [One Shot Mode], disabling you from taking a shot.

What really doesn't make sense is not being able to review your pictures?

Re: 5D Mark II dark viewfinder / camera locked

Disguyzed — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 17:20:36 GMT

Was this ever resolved? This exact scenario happened to me yesterday, except that overheating was definitely not a contributing factor.